


Senatra Night

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: M/M, None - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 03:58:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/793729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-Romance, the guys skit around feelings after a night out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Senatra Night

## Senatra Night

by Fire Frog

Author's webpage: <http://www.wn.com.au/firefrog>

* * *

The Sentinel is property of Pet Fly (c). All rights reserved. No infringement intended. No money passed hands.   
Senatra Night. 

Down the stairs the detective bopped, Mickey Mouse cap on backwards, fingerless gloves strapped on, red & white polkadot bandanna tucked into his back pocket. 

/Oh no,/ thought Blair /Jim's in full goofus mode./ Point in case, he grabbed Blair in the kitchen and began to waltz him round and round. 

"Hey, hey, hey!" yelped the shorter man, trying to save the (dolphin friendly) tuna sandwich he'd been eating. 

"Dum dadda, dahr dum.." hummed Jim, picking up his partner and depositing him on the counter top. /How did he do that?/ Blair could never lift the cop like that, least not without lots of grunting, and maybe a rope. 

"You are too weird man.," he said, rescuing his sandwich onto a plate. Jim smiled as he waltzed by on the arm of a tall mop. "Dancing with cleaning utensils, what next? Jeeze." 

"Come on Chief, get ready, it's Senatra night." smirked the big detective, swapping his mop for a denim jacket. 

"Oh yeah, Senatra night - its been a month already?" Resigned the anthro student crammed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth, then headed to his room to put on a dress shirt and slacks (one of them had to maintain the tone, Senatra's was a classy place). 

"Come on Sandburg, I know you love Senatra night. And you've gotta be there any way, you're my lucky charm." 

"Yeah man, it's just that I had things to do tonight." 

"Things that can wait. Tonight we put aside our worries and relax. You do want me to relax more, don'tcha Chief?" Jim batted his eyelashes from the doorway where he waited, keys in hand. With a heavy sigh Blair pulled on his jacket and preceded him out the door. 

o

* * *

_oooOOOooo_

* * *

_oooOOOooo_

* * *

oooOOOooo

Senatra's was a piano bar in down town Cascade, owned by one Lucinda Powel, a very sexy lady who felt she owed Jim big-time. He had been instrumental in locking up her pyromaniac ex-boyfriend, a man no one believed capable of doing the things she claimed, until Ellison and his sidekick took an interest. Once a month she paid back her debt by letting the big cop do an evening stint on the piano. So far it had worked out well, the man could actually play, even if he did need his little helper to stop those weird seizures, or 'zoning on the music' as Blair put it. 

When the duo pulled up outside the bar, Blair could see some of Jim's regulars were already scuttling in, anxious to get the best seats. Who'd have thought you could get such a loyal following from the blue rinse set? There was a paper in this, Blair just knew it. 

"Hello Mr. Ellison," a white haired lady in a peach coloured twin set and pearls called from the curbside. She waved a little and Jim beamed widely as he steered Blair ahead of him via a hand at the small of his back. 

"Hello Mrs. Winscott, how is the Judge this morning?" 

"Doing well Mr. Ellison, they're letting him out of the hospital next Tuesday, I think he's been annoying them again. Do you think you could do 'Evergreen' for me? I do so love when you do that one, it's the Judge's and my particular favorite." 

Blair ground his teeth (knowing Jim would hear it). /Waylaid before we even got to the door./ If Jim ever gave out their home phone number he'd kill him, taking requests could get quite cut throat, especially from the older ladies. He had to put his foot down last time about mediating between them. Apparently Jim had heeded his words as he smoothly demurred with a 'if we have time.' 

"Darlings!" cooed the elegant proprietress, red hair piled atop her head, slinky gray dress leaving little to the imagination. She kissed Jim's cheek and sent him off to the piano, (to be promptly swamped by the Jim Ellison Fan Club) then settled Blair into his regular seat by the bar. Soon the tunes of a bygone era were rolling out as the surprisingly musical cop settled into his routine. 

"Hmm, the profits have just shot up these past few months," smiled Lucinda as she took in the tableau, "you couldn't persuade him to do two nights a month, could you Blair?" 

"Don't even think it." Sandburg shook his curly head, remembering with chagrin how hard it had been for him to get Jim to perform the first time. And now she wanted them to do this two times a month? Forget it, he already had way too much piano music in his life. If only it didn't relax his sentinel so much. But it did. Jim got such satisfaction from playing, he became so happy and, well, fulfilled. Something the tough cop needed a good dose of every now and then. Not that Blair worried about it that much. Not that Blair felt a need to keep him balanced. No way, uh huh, not happening. No mother henning from this neo hippie flower child. 

But, he did hate piano music. And he had been coming here with Jim for what felt like 'years' now (only about six months). Just to make sure he took his 'down time' of course (and to be the 'lucky charm' Jim liked to tease him about.) So he put up with a bit of horrible music for a while. No biggie. 

What a surprise it had been in one of their hypnosis sessions (one of the few before Jim lost it and refused to participate in "this 'messing with my mind" regression therapy. He could be such an asshole sometimes.), to discover that Jim had taken piano lessons to feel closer to his departed music-hall actress mother. And that playing the instrument was one of the rare times he felt truly connected, part of the social structure of those around him, at one with the cosmos .....all very deep and personal stuff. (It would take hot needles and applied electricity to get Blair to admit his knowledge of this to anyone, for no amount of torture could compare to what his sentinel would do to him if he even knew that _he_ knew.) 

Lucinda motioned for a waitress and ordered two drinks. Then she turned to Blair, a sadly serious look in her eyes. "Blair," she reached across and laid her fingers lightly on his arm, "you and Jim, you're safe, aren't you?" He gave her a curious look, but she pressed on before he could ask what she meant. "It's just that I have a cousin, Marcus, who...Oh Blair, he's got it. He's got it!" and she collapsed forwards into the surprised Anthropologist's arms. Gingerly patting the woman's shoulder, he was thinking /Safe? Got what? / when it hit him. The virus. AIDs. 

"Oh Lucinda." He murmured, pulling her into a comforting embrace. 

o

* * *

_oooOOOooo_

* * *

_oooOOOooo_

* * *

oooOOOooo

"So Chief, where did you and our lovely hostess go to tonight? I missed my lucky charm." Jim smiled as they drove home later that night. Blair gave him an odd look, then shrugged. 

"We were talking in the backroom. One of her cousins is dying of AIDs." 

"Oh. Poor Lucinda." Jim pulled up at a set of red lights and frowned at his partner. Blair looked preoccupied. "You OK Chief?" 

"Yeah, just - she asked if we were safe, you know?" 

"Don't worry kid, I'm always safe." He got a worried look of his own and skewered his partner with it, "You're safe Sandburg, right?" 

"Hey, I don't make it to home base nearly as often as you guys seem to think I do, but yeah, I'm always careful. That's not what.." 

Jim interrupted him, "Hang on to that thought Chief, the light's green...what was that you where saying?" 

"Um, nothing. Did you get milk today, I think we're out." Blair decided he would have to think about this before discussing it with the big cop. Beside him Jim relaxed a little. He wasn't ready for this conversation yet either. But soon. It had to come soon. 


End file.
